The priests of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada gather with Bishop Dan this weekend at Camp Galilee on retreat to refresh and re-connect. Prayers are welcome!

Yesterday May 4th was the feast of Monnica, mother of Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, who died in 387CE. In his 'Confessions', Augustine describes himself as a wild child, raising a lot of Cain, getting in trouble constantly & driving his mom crazy. Monnica was a devout follower of the Jesus movement. She prayed for Augustine - A LOT. She pushed him to straighten up and fly right. Pushing him didn't help much. Eventually, and after years of travail, the prayer helped a great deal, because in his early 20's Augustine had a spiritual experience - crashed & burned - that led to his vocation as a baptized Christian, then priest & eventually bishop. Needless to say his mother was greatly relieved, though she never stopped praying.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's in the parish!

Jeff

Gratitude

Thanks to all of you who bring your children and grandchildren and neighboring children to church. They are a delightful addition of Spirit.

Thanks also to Miss Pam and the others who make our excellent Godly Play program possible.

Episcopal Women's Tea Party

Saturday, May 14th at St. Paul's in Sparks

Back by popular demand! The Episcopal Women of Nevada are having a Tea Party in the North and South again. The northern Tea Party and Silent Auction is coming up on the 14th of May, but the deadline for tickets is May 10th, so they will know how many ladies to prepare for. Click here to see the flyer and for more information. All ladies who attend the Episcopal church are invited. Hats are optional but encouraged! A traditional "tea menu" will be served.

All is Right with the World!

We love how God works! It only took a couple of announcements about the vacancies, and they were filled!

Karen Kish, the Chairperson of our St. Peter's Finance committee, is VERY pleased to welcome Marilyn Peshak and Gayle Bowers as the newest members of the Finance committee. Both bring ideal background, expertise and experience to qualify as members; AND Gayle is also willing to serve as Committee Secretary. Thanks to the whole committee for your dedicated and diligent service.

Writing as a Spiritual Practice

The Heart of Our Story.... Learning who we are and why we are here

Writing can be a powerful and transformative spiritual practice -- through which we can cultivate an expansive mind, open heart, authentic relationships, liberated creativity and a freer soul. This space is going to give examples of PROMPTS that are intended to give you a launching pad for some writing. Please approach this as a spiritual practice and invite the Holy into your writing time. Here are some suggestions to begin with:

HOW: If you'd like to engage in a bit of self-discovery,

consider setting a timer for 15 minutes and begin with one of the PROMPTs below (or other topic that calls to you). Then just write whatever comes to mind until the buzzer goes off. (Don't edit it, don't correct your spelling or worry about punctuation. This is NOT that kind of writing. The only person who's going to look at it when you are done, is you. And if you want to keep going, reset the timer for additional time.) Later, feel free to dive into the other PROMPT if it begins to call to you.

PROMPTS for this time:

"They" say that God already dwells within me. My experience on this has been ______________.

There was a time when I trusted my "gut" or my intuition. For example, I remember when ___________________________________________.

A Moment to Ponder.......

The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.

~~Flannery O'Connor

Practicing the Presence of Spirit--

Even on a Busy Day

Here is a spiritual practice that will bring empowerment and creative expansion into your life.

1. Make a list of a number of everyday routine activities that you perform frequently. Include activities that you may consider uninteresting, boring, tedious, irritating, or stressful. (But don't include anything that you hate or detest doing. That's a case either for acceptance or for stopping what you do.) The list may include traveling to and from work, buying groceries, doing your laundry, or anything that you find tedious or stressful in your daily work. 2. Then, whenever you are engaged in those activities, let them be a vehicle for alertness. Be absolutely present in what you do; and sense the alert, alive stillness within you in the background of the activity. 3. You will soon find that what you do in such a state of heightened awareness, (instead of being stressful, tedious, or irritating), is actually becoming enjoyable. To be more precise, what you are enjoying is not really the outward action but the inner dimension of consciousness that flows into the action. This is finding the joy of Being in what you are doing. If you feel your life lacks significance or is too stressful or tedious, it is because you haven't brought that dimension into your life yet. Being conscious in what you do has not yet become your main aim.

The new earth arises as more and more people discover that their main purpose in life is to bring the light of consciousness into this world and so use whatever they do as a vehicle for consciousness. The joy of Being is the joy of being conscious.

[Adapted from p. 299-300, A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle.]

A Love Letter from the Divine.....

You would like to avoid me. You are sad and you fear that contact with me will make you sadder still. "Let me be shallow," you say, but I must refuse you. Do not avoid me. I am not the cause of your pain. I am a witness to your life, but I do not bring grief with me. Sometimes grief lies simply in seeing what is. When you do that, you can turn to me. I will see what you saw. I will witness your sorrow. I am the great comforter. I bring you solace, understanding, and hope. In times of despair, hope is what you have abandoned. You have said, "Do not ask me to care again." But you do care, and despite yourself you do need reassurance. Let me reassure you. Let me promise you there is more good to come. Your life is not over, nor is your happiness. You will love again. Bring me your weary heart. Allow me to feel the depth of your melancholy. Do not hide from me your cynicism and the fact that all seems ashes. I can absorb your loss. I can withstand your pain. I am larger than the passing moment, larger even than the great losses you sustain. I am your comfort. I know how to gentle your savage heart. Bring me your wildness and your grief.

[This is an excerpt from Answered Prayers, Love Letters from the Divine, by Julia Cameron, p. 67.]

A Moment of Zen

Male Spirituality --- Encouraging an Inner Life

This is a series of articles aimed specifically for the Men of St. Peter's. The material is taken from the written works of Fr. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest who is renowned for his retreats and lectures on male spirituality. This is not intended to be a "daily devotional." It is meant to be more confrontational. It is truthful and brave; and invites you to be the same.

What Is

The best ally of God is what is---not what should be, what could be, or what needs to be. God and grace can always work with the real; it's the unreal, the fabricated, the illusory that God cannot build on. There's nothing there! And the "real" is always a mixed blessing, partially light and partially dark, no matter if it's your family and friends, the groups and institutions you belong to, or yourself. The problem is not "out there": your parents didn't love you enough, your spouse isn't the right person for you, your boss doesn't appreciate you.... Start with yourself. You're not perfect, and that's all right. You don't have to fix everything and everybody, and you don't have to explain everything or everybody. Let the perfect God love the imperfect you. There is no other kind for God to love! Begin there, and see where the next step takes you.

---How can I better focus on what is rather than on all the shoulds, coulds, and woulds?

[Adapted from p. 152 of On the Threshold of Transformation: Daily Meditations for Men, by Fr. Richard Rohr]

Do You Shop on Amazon.Com???

You can painlessly benefit St. Peter's when you shop Amazon.com. Until we figure out a more generic way to connect this e-mail to Amazon's site, we'll be using a featured book link. Click on the "Shop Now" link and it will take you to the book's information, but you don't have to buy it. From there, you can then go wherever else you want on Amazon and your purchase will benefit St. Peter's (with no extra cost to you).

Our featured book this edition is Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living by Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and National Humanities Medalist Krista Tippett. It is especially recommended for those who yearn for something deeper than the daily grind of consumerism in which we are all too often ensnared. Tippett helps us loosen our bonds and imagine a more meaningful and more elegant way of life.

Broadcaster Krista Tippett has interviewed the most extraordinary voices examining the great questions of meaning for our time. The heart of her work on her national public radio program and podcast, On Being, has been to shine a light on people whose insights kindle in us a sense of wonder and courage. Scientists in a variety of fields; theologians from an array of faiths; poets, activists, and many others have all opened themselves up to Tippett's compassionate yet searching conversation.

In Becoming Wise, Tippett distills the insights she has gleaned from this luminous conversation in its many dimensions into a coherent narrative journey, over time and from mind to mind. The book is a master class in living, curated by Tippett and accompanied by a delightfully ecumenical dream team of teaching faculty.

2nd Saturday from 8:00 to 9:30am -- Men's Breakfast (all St. Peter's men are cordially invited)

4th Friday from 5:45 to 8:30pm -- Sophia's Salon Reading Group *(meets at a private residence, for info contact the Rev. Kim)

St. P's Gratitude Garden: Planning is beginning.

(Our contact is Rory Hogen.)

Schedule of Worship Services

St. Peter's Altar ~~ by Pat Frederick-Perona

Sundays

8 am: Holy Communion: Rite II

10 am: Contemporary Worship Service

and Sunday School with Godly Play (in the Rectory)

Wednesdays

10 am: Healing Service and Holy Communion

We at St. Peter's are a lively spiritual fellowship blessed with the rich heritage of community involvement. We are open-minded, inclusive, and family-friendly. We hope you find us to be intellectually and spiritually stimulating.